The clues for a close-to-the-heart missing person’s case heat up when Chris Matheson starts chipping away at the ice on the cold case.

When Sandy Lipton and her unborn child disappear, the court of public opinion finds young Chris Matheson guilty. Decades later, the retired FBI agent returns home to discover that the cloud of suspicion cast over him and his family has never lifted. With the help of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field of investigation, Chris Matheson starts chipping away at the ice on this cold case to uncover what had happened to Sandy and her baby and the clues are getting hot!

How is it that love and murder seem to go hand in hand when it comes to murder mysteries?

Think about it. We pick up a mystery because we want to read about murder and mayhem. Yet, somewhere, someplace, whether it be in the forefront of the plot or in the background, there’s an interweaving of romance.

Nancy Drew had Ned hanging around.

Perry Mason had Della Street at his beck and call—at least I think so. You could never really tell. That was one

of the things that kept readers coming back. Are they or aren’t they?

Mystery fans fell in love with Elizabeth George’s Inspector Thomas Lynley and his late wife Helen. When George killed Helen off, I was as mad at Elizabeth George as if she pulled the trigger. (Actually, as the writer, didn’t she

pull the trigger?)

Romance is not only found in murder mysteries. On the other side of the bookshelf, in the romance genre,

mystery often plays a big role in romance novels. I remember not being able to put down Daphne du Maurier’sRebecca, one of literature’s greatest romance novels, which is filled with mystery surrounding the death of

Rebecca, the first Mrs. DeWinter.

Even mysteries with unattached detectives, some who want nothing to do with love, or who are never

successful at it, usually seem to have a couple of characters who have been struck with cupid’s arrow

somewhere in the plot. It is not uncommon for the protagonist to be dragged into the mystery to save the

couple’s union. Does anybody know how often the hard-boiled detective has been hired by the wife of a

murder suspect to clear her husband or boyfriend’s name?

“Love is for suckers and fools,” the detective will grumble before going off to solve the case, only because he

wants to bring a smile to the poor lady’s pretty face.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I’m all for love and romance, especially when it means a big box of

chocolates on Valentine’s Day.

Love has a big part in murder mysteries. Mystery writers, including myself, seem to always write it in and

readers love to scoop it up. From the first installment of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, readers were anxious

for Mac and his lady love Archie to get together.

Why does love play such a big role in murder mysteries?

Well, the answer can be found in the definition of the two emotions.

Love: The definition of Love as defined by Google is “an intense feeling of deep affection.”

Murder: Also according to Google: “The unlawful, premeditated killing of another human being.” While Google doesn’t go on to say it, it can go without saying that this act is brought about by an intense feeling, but not of

affection, the feeling that is opposite of love: hatred.

In my opinion the mixture of these two emotions, so extreme from each other, is akin to a literary sweet and sour mix. In one chapter, we have the plot surrounding the intense act of murder, only be complemented by the sweet love scenes.

When plotting Ice, the first installment in the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, I could not resist adding a

little love to his life.

Chris’s wife had been killed two years earlier in the terrorist attack in Nice, France, leaving him alone to raise three little girls by himself. After his father’s sudden death, Chris moves his family back to the family farm to live with his mother. Note that he is surrounded by women. Even his mother’s two big dogs and his daughters’

rabbit, Thor, are female.

Then, Chris runs into Helen Clarke, a lieutenant with the state police. His first love, she had broken his heart without any explanation when they were teenagers. Now divorced with a teenaged daughter, she is available

for Chris to make another go at being with her forever … or should he?

In this excerpt, they struggle to discuss the murder of a mobster while keeping their personal feelings in check:

Chris recognized the hard glare in Helen’s eyes.

The elevator was filled with frosty silence while it made its way to the main floor. Seemingly in slow motion, the num-bers above the door lit and dimmed to indicate their descent.

In his head, Chris knew the ride was not taking any lon-ger than usual—it only seemed that way.

“Anybody else chilly?” Francine asked with sarcasm from her spot between the two of them.

“I asked Peyton to the benefit for a reason.” Chris directed his statement over Francine’s head to Helen.

The elevator doors opened and Helen shot out like a race horse making for the finish line. Chris chased after her.

“We all know why you asked her, Studmuffin.” Francine dug her buzzing phone out of her handbag. “She’s hot and you’re horny.”

While running through the gaming room after Helen, Chris caught sight of what looked like a German shepherd tucked between an elderly couple dancing with glee at the blackjack table.

That dog looks just like Sterling. Remembering the German shepherd he had left in the truck, Chris stopped. Sterling! He whirled around. The elderly couple were dancing behind a tall pile of chips. The stool where he thought he had seen Sterling was empty. Must have been my imagination. He chuckled. Dogs playing blackjack? Have you lost your mind, Matheson?

Chris refocused on catching Helen and spotted her at the top of the stairs leading into the lounge. He caught up with her at the end of the bar. “Helen, you need to listen to me.”

“About what? You can ask whoever you want to your mother’s fancy dinner dance. It isn’t like we love each other.”

The taste of a good romance in a mystery can take the edge off the gruesomeness of a killer plot, which is a

good thing. I have found that books with no romance or tender emotion between characters to be depressing and leave a feeling of hopelessness—which is another genre.

Personally, I prefer a little love mixed in with my murder and mayhem.

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Watch the Book Trailer:

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Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Now, Lauren has added one more hit series to her list with the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries. Set in the quaint West Virginia town of Harpers Ferry, Ice introduces Chris Matheson, a retired FBI agent, who joins forces with other law enforcement retirees to heat up those cold cases that keep them up at night.

1 comment

Hello, Fellow Addicts to Love! Thank you so much for inviting me to your site today to introduce Chris and Helen of Ice. Here's wishing everyone good luck in the giveaway for the $100 Amazon Gift Card!